From chickens to taxis, little gets done quickly amid bureaucracy

Sunday

Mar 23, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Seven ongoing issues in Wilmington show that the wheels of government grind slowly.

By Julian MarchJulian.March@StarNewsOnline.com

As the saying goes, the wheels of government grind slowly.Part of the reason government decision-making is a long time coming is because of a philosophy of due process and public engagement, said Wilmington City Manager Sterling Cheatham.“It's the policymaking that can be very deliberate and very involving,” he said. He doesn't think that is always bad. “It is also part of making a better decision, too,” Cheatham said. While governments may be led by elected officials, staffers who implement those policies are part of a multi-layered bureaucracy. Take one actual example: a suggestion to loosen city ordinances related to chickens to accommodate a growing interest in backyard egg-laying hens.At least three city groups are studying the matter: attorneys, code enforcement and planners, Cheatham said, adding they all have a perspective and an interest in the matter.Cheatham said you don't want to sacrifice a good decision by making a bad one quickly.“When you're making public policy, you got to stir the stew a little bit longer to make sure you have the flavor fully integrated,” he said. Even elected members of the city council have gotten frustrated about how long some things seem to take. Sometimes, it boils down to finding money for a project. On Tuesday, the council considered transportation improvements to a section of 17th Street that was conceived in 2008. “So important we've waited six years,” remarked Councilman Charlie Rivenbark, to some laughter. Rivenbark said the intersection at Market and 16th streets is in dire need of improvements. He was told a project has been identified but is unfunded. “Six more years and we'll get that one,” Rivenbark said. This is a look at the status of seven issues the city has been dealing with in recent years.

The issue: In early 2013, sweepstakes operators owed the city more than $2 million in privilege taxes and late fees.The city had required sweepstakes operators to pay $2,000 or $3,000 per machine annually. But some operators protested that the fees were too high, and not all paid up.As of early 2013, the city was accepting payments from operators, but the attorney's office was waiting on a state Supreme Court decision regarding the issue of the reasonableness of Lumberton's privilege taxes. Wilmington's tax is similar to Lumberton's, said Assistant City Attorney Joe Betts at the time.What's new: Last week, Betts said the Supreme Court did render a decision in the case, but that he couldn't comment on how the decision relates to Wilmington. In March 2013, the state Supreme Court deemed Lumberton's sweepstakes fees “unconstitutionally high and therefore unenforceable,” wrote Chris McLaughlin, an attorney who contributes to a local government law blog for the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Lumberton was directed to refund the $5,000-per-location and $2,500-per-machine taxes the city levied on video sweepstakes operators, McLaughlin said. The city of Wilmington is still owed more than $2 million in privilege taxes and late fees, said Malissa Talbert, a city spokeswoman. She said the city is still accepting payments. Talbert said the city has not determined whether legal options will be used to collect the late fees.

The issue: In November 2012, Councilwoman Margaret Haynes, now mayor pro tem, asked city staff to examine how Wilmington's chicken rules compare with those in other communities. She also encouraged staff members to consider making the city's rules more lax. The directive came after some urged the council to allow more latitude for urban chickens, especially considering the growing popularity in backyard egg-laying hens. One Wilmington family was slapped with a code enforcement violation for three hens that were therapy chickens for their teenage son with autism.What's new: The city's chief code enforcement officer is finalizing recommendations related to chicken rules, said Joe Betts, an assistant city attorney. Betts, who was involved in discussions about potential scenarios that could be used here, said the focus seemed to be examining options to make Wilmington's rules more accommodating.

The issue: In October, the city council opted to delay a proposal to ban gang members from parks after it was questioned by a civil liberties watchdog group.At the meeting, Councilman Kevin O'Grady said a delay would give city attorneys time to sharpen the language in the ordinance, which he said was too vague. Under the original proposal, anyone employed by or associated with a criminal street gang who was found in a park after being warned could be charged with trespassing. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina sent council members a two-page letter that suggested the ordinance could invite profiling. “The proposed ordinance will disproportionately affect people in certain neighborhoods, based more on where they live or who their neighbors, friends or relatives are,” wrote Sarah Preston, an attorney who is ACLU-NC's policy director.The council ultimately voted 6-1 to continue the matter to the first meeting in November. On Nov. 6, City Manager Sterling Cheatham asked the council to table the matter. Cheatham said the request would be brought back to the council if it was necessary. The council voted to continue the matter until the second meeting in February. At the Feb. 18 meeting, the matter didn't resurface. What's new: City staff members are no longer pursuing such a ban, said Steve Harrell, director of the city's community services department, which includes the parks division. Harrell said police do not consider such a ban necessary. Mayor Bill Saffo said he would be open to considering the matter again if it was recommended by the police department. “I thought it was a valid point,” Saffo said. “I still think it is a valid point that if we have identified gang members in a park, we don't want them to be there.”

The issue: In Wilmington, brick streets within the city's Historic District and Historic District-Overlay are to be maintained as brick streets. But what's not as clear is what happens to brick streets that are covered in asphalt. Janet Seapker, an architectural historian and vice chairman of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, wants to change that.More than a year ago, Seapker asked city planners to consider updating Wilmington's brick streets policy. If she has it her way, the city will ensure the policy prevents paving over bricks that have been uncovered as asphalt wears away. Her interest grew after she saw asphalt eroding to show more brick streets than she even knew existed. The policy update could also further define procedures for repairing brick streets.What's new: Nothing. In February 2013, planners were studying the proposal and the matter was in the discussion and brainstorming phase. That is still the status of the issue, said Ron Satterfield, the deputy planning director for the city.

The issue: Last year, the city launched a six-month pilot program that funded an additional taxi inspector/code enforcement officer to work nights and weekends.Officials said the inspector would ensure that illegal cabs or limousine services would stop operating in the city. The city allows 155 taxi licenses, also called “W-numbers.” Inspector El Taruas Bluford, a former cop, is the Wilmington Police Department's sole full-time code enforcement officer. The six-month pilot project will cost $14,000, according to a memo. In addition to citing unlicensed cabs, the officers enforce other rules governing taxis and wreckers.What's new: The police department has two inspectors who work part-time on nights and weekends, downtown or anywhere they get complaints about illegal taxis, Bluford said. Since November, the team has written a total of nine citations, mainly for illegal cabs but also other violations, such as having a cab driver who is not permitted. Bluford said he would recommend keeping the team after the pilot project because the enforcement is needed.

The issue: The Wilmington Fire Department has had plans to buy technology that would help clear the way for firetrucks at busy intersections. It's called “pre-emption” technology, so named because it would pre-empt the normal timing pattern on traffic lights. When a firetruck in emergency-response mode approaches an intersection outfitted with the technology, traffic moves in the direction the emergency responders need to travel.Last year, fire officials had a plan to try to fund a pilot project in the upcoming budget cycle, which begins July 1. What's new: That won't happen after all. “Right now, it's pretty much on hold,” said Frank Blackley, an assistant fire chief for operations.The technology is still on the department's wish list but there is no immediate funding for the project, he said.The technology costs about $6,300 for an intersection with four approaches. Each fire engine's vehicle kit would cost $3,000. The fire department has a list of 25 locations where the pre-emption could be used.

The issue: A dilapidated, historic blue house at 226 S. Front St. in downtown Wilmington faces demolition. If the house sells to someone who wants to repair it, that would bring a resolution to a quandary for the city. The city council has ruled the house must be repaired or it faces demolition. Although several city council members have vocally opposed demolishing the house, other members have cautioned against the city trying to buy the house to save it.What's new: Not a lot. The house is still listed with a sale price of $375,000.An unnamed party had the property under contract late last year, but that contract expired, said Henry Nadeau, a broker with Creative Commercial Properties Inc. Earlier in 2013, a Wilmington nonprofit, Kids Making It, also had the property under contract but decided against buying it. Since the more recent contract fell through, Nadeau said there has been interest in the property.“The hope is still that it will be renovated one of these days,” he said.

Julian March: 343-2099On Twitter: @julian_march

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